“God’s light is not showing us this path. It’s showing us where we’re headed. It’s a lighthouse, guiding the ship. And the lighthouse is on solid rock.” – Glenn Beck, Divine Destiny speech,August 2010

Having watched the “Restoring Honor” rally on the Mall in Washington D.C., I say with confidence I’m very vexed and even confused by Glenn Beck’s notions of “God” and “faith.” If millions of people want to follow a man who claims to know “the path” to restoring American through through Mormonism’s god, then count me out.

Almost no one who attended Saturday’s “Restoring Honor” rally on the National Mall seems able to cogently explain what, exactly, took place. Was it a thinly disguised political rally? A triumph of Made in America inspirational treacle? A modern-day religious revival? When probed by reporters, happy participants and skeptical observers alike struggled to make sense of the prayerful parade that saw Tony LaRussa, Sarah Palin, and Eveda King take turns at a podium between prerecorded voiceovers about crossroads, awakenings, and miracles.

I respect and even admire Beck’s feelings of patriotism and nationalism, but when it is funneled through Mormonism, every Christian should take note. Mormonism and Christianity are not the same thing. Historical orthodox Christians believe, among other things:

Christ was not fully divine and shares some “brotherhood” with Satan (Journal of Discourses, 1:50-51)

God is a man (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-347;)

Those are just three conflicting beliefs. I did not mention that Mormons believe in attaining salvation through different levels of heaven (Journal of Discourses 76: 94-98), God and Mary had intercourse (Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 115), that you can be your own “god” and have your planet (Book of Abraham 4:3ff)), and the Mormon god had many wives. Is this all found in the Bible? No, just to Mormonism. If you really want the breakdown of the beliefs, see this complete comparison with direct quotes from official Mormon documents. In addition, here are several key doctrines of Mormonism.

My goal here is to educate the politically conservative Christian who buys into Beck’s notion of “god” because Christians think he is speaking about the Triune God of Christianity. Beck even has the gall to question our President’s relationship with Christ by pairing our President’s faith with liberation theology, which our President has never advocated for. I never thought I’d see the day when a Mormon would question a president’s commitment to Christ. Beck even had other evangelicals and pastors standing with him who provided additional talking points, such as Pastor Richard Lee.

I’m all for God and country, but not the god that Beck proclaims. All the Christians out there, take a hard look at the god that Beck is preaching. Is it the God that Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac? Is it God of Peter, Paul, and the disciples? The revisionist Mormon belief system is incompatible with historical Christianity. Let us Christians heed what St. Paul said to the Galatians, who warned us of “another Gospel.”

Rev,
Beck is one confused propagandists for the Global Elites. Nothing worse than a Zionist Morman to lead the dumb sheep to more poverty and more wars in the Middle east. Beck is just another anti Christ, IJohn 1:22,23 “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

This guy is a modern day Judas Iscariot or a Benedict Arnold. Do not trust this serpent!

If you want to see the America that Beck is urging on, you need only read his followers’ comments on this site http://wp.me/pNmlT-mI which is critical of Beck and his rally. They are completely blind to facts presented to them if they are contrary to their beliefs. It is scary to see the hold he has over them despite him offering so little substance or truth.

The truly clueless and intellectually lazy are looking for a messiah and they have found one at the Tea Klux Klan, in the person of Glenn Beck. It is only a small leap from pure inflexible doctrinaire fundamentalist religious belief, to someone like Beck transferring that mentality over to the political realm. He is the ultimate huckster and must be humiliated in the minds of his clueless drones, in-order to stop him.

If you’re trying to educate people about Mormon beliefs, then why didn’t you link to any Mormon website where Mormons can explain for themselves what they believe, such as http://www.lds.org or http://www.mormon.org?

My goal here is also to educate the politically conservative Christian. Arguing whether Beck is a Christian or not, or if his religious message is false or not, is a red herring wrapped in a Trojan horse.

Any overtly religious attempt to guide public policy within the parameters of any given faith must be confronted and stemmed. If someone happens to be conservative and Christian, that is fine with me. To expect me to abide by laws based on an overtly conservative Christian doctrine (emphasis on Christian) is not. So I don’t really care who is or isn’t a true Christian. It should not be relevant to public policy discussion.

Can you give me one single reference in the Bible where the word, “Trinity” is used? The concept of the Trinity came about through the Council of Nicea around 300 AD. This “added” doctrine sure reminds me of Revelations 22:18 “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues”.

2. “The full humanity and divinity of Christ”

Who is this Christ you speak of? You just stated that Christ as a single, separate man does not exist. You state that he has no “humanity” as a single being, but is part of some sort of Trinity.

3. “God is not a man”

Again, with the contradictions. You speak of Christ, but then you speak of God as something separate. Didn’t you just tell me that he is not separate? But how can Christ have been a man if he was not separate? This is so confusing, but then again, that’s what Satan does – he confuses.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, unlike your sect, follows the scriptures where the word “Trinity” cannot be found. Unlike you, they don’t follow some heresy council of Nicea brought about by doctrinal perversions by Constantinople.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I am very disappointed in this article. Glenn Beck may not be perfect or have his own theology completely figured out yet. Some of the pastors have said he is moving more and more towards Christianity by the day. The Christianity that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and must accept Jesus as their personal savior. He is on the right track and instead of demonizing him you should be praying for his complete salvation. It probably wouldn’t hurt to say a prayer for yourself as well while your at it. This applies to the 3 that have commented above me also.

Zionism also rocks. Has any Jew ever blown himself up in an American shopping mall or educational institution, taking innocent children with him? Has any Jew ever taken Americans hostage, tortured and beheaded them? Has any Jew ever hijacked a commercial airliner and flown it into buildings in an American city to intentionally inflict the most civilian deaths possible?

“Even the Devil himself can cite Scripture to suit his own ends”. Glenn Beck and anyone else who attempts to pervert faith to enslave humanity is evil.

As I have a listed the extra-biblical and heretical points of Mormonism, you too must answer those points. As the the Trinity, a concept that is not mention by name, rather Christendom has affirmed the biblical principles of the tribune God. As for defending all other points, just research historical Christian theology. Please start with Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology, 2004 and
The Named God and the Question Of Being: A Trinitarian Theo-Ontology, 2005. Christian doctrine speaks for itself on the logical points. How can Mormonism be so correct when Mormons had to adjust their views of African-Americans and plural marriage? Can the ‘true’ church be in error?

Sheldon, I’m sorry to hear of your disappointment but it is clear that the Jesus that Beck believes in is not The Jesus that scripture teaches. Again, if Beck wants to talk politics, that’s fine. As soon as he brings in “God” and the “God” of our founders, it is not the same. I’m not demonizing Beck, but bringing to light the truth.

Great job Rev. Rudnick for speaking the truth about Glen Beck’s rhetoric. I said Saturday, ‘Here we go with another Jerry Fawell type”. It is really disgusting how people attempt to use God to sway people’s votes for their own gain. Wake up America.

Beck is doing more for faith and the foundations this nation was founded upon than any Pastor. Maybe if you would get out of the church into the community you might realize there is more to the Word than the six walls of your church.

As a Orthodox Presbyterian, I am very fond of Glen Beck (My religious affiliate and your religious affiliate teach differently but have the same Goal! AND THAT IS GOD SHOULD BE FIRST IN OUR LIVES.) BUT Do I agree with everything he says….No….did I believe everything my parents said growing up…No. Regardless Rev. Rudnick, I believe he is doing what you and I want and Need and that is to have GOD back in our lives. “Let’s not CHANGE America, Lets RESTORE it. Glen Beck is a Mormon Rev. Rudnick but he at least put the word out and Rallied the Nation. Frankly I dont care what he did to get those people there (within reason). He did it and he did it WELL.

sue – Glenn Beck is a self-serving megalomaniac. He is an idiot and if you admire him, you may very well have to reevaluate your opinion of him before anyone with a shred of intelligence starts to figure out how clueless a follower might have to be. He got those people there the old fashioned way, he lied to them. America has never been in a position where we could remotely want to restore it. The only hope we should have is to improve it, and drop kicking Glenn Beck off a cliff, would be a good start.

How is it that religion, of any kind, still persists in the 21st century? It is incredible that hundreds of millions of otherwise intelligent, educated people throw it all our the window when it comes to religion….and that’s to say nothing of the remaining balance of billions of uneducated, ignorant humans on the planet.

Do you really think that the 3rd planet orbiting an exceptionally average star in an average galaxy, one of hundreds of billions, holds some special divine place in the universe? That there is some supreme being who occupies their time addressing your request to help you find your lost keys or to help your favorite team make that last second field goal? Wow

Well said Mr Rudnick; this is the same individual who exhorted individuals to leave any church that stood for social justice (a term encompassing the feeding of widows and orphans). Sometimes I wonder whether our fellow believers actually believe Fox News or the Bible, the two are not co-equals. Christians would be well served by canceling their cable (which would coincidentally free them from Fox News and Glenn Beck) and have more family time.

I asked my 94 year old father, who listened to glen beck and the others of his ilk, just what he learned from listening. Did he learn anything new? anything constructive? Can you identify his theology? What philosophers shaped his reasoning? How long do you think we would last as a county/empire if we applied beck’s rules of unabashed nationalism and moral exceptionalism to our lives and the life of our county? I went on further and asked if beck was merely reinforcing his preconceived ideas and positions… his answer came over time..yes he was… my father did not stop listening entirely, but now does it for a different reason.. he now picks out the errors in beck’s stated positions/understanding of history, christian theology, economics, etc… and has decided that in the final analysis beck, intellectuality speaking, is troubled and somewhat undereducated.. but now exceedingly wealthy. Years ago in this country we had what was called “snake oil salesman” who preached and sold their wares off the back of a Conestoga Wagon. They often mesmerized people who were searching for “something” they were too lazy to pursue for themselves… knowledge, understanding, truth and even the reality of their own environment. I’m reminded of a line from that song. The “Boxer”, by those singer/philosophers ..Simon and Garfunkel.. “man believes what he wants to believe and disregards the rest”….

Would the good pastor be willing to debate the issue of whether LDS Christians ARE “Christian” on a popular radio program in Salt Lake City? Let’s find out. Let’s see if he will contact me at: ormsbyhome@gmail.com

X Beidler, Thanks… having a degree in PR, I know the “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” quote. Never agreed with that as a hard and fast rule because of the obvious blunders of products, public figures, and the like that have been marred by their own mistakes or out right lies.

The difference between Mormonism and Christianity can be broken down into two main categories – all other points of contention, including those Rev. Rudnick mentions above, fall under these headings: 1) The Nature of God, and 2) Canon of Scripture. The doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) regarding the nature of God, although in harmony with the Bible, is not based solely on biblical interpretation. Mormons believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals because that is how they revealed themselves to the Prophet Joseph Smith and others in ancient and modern times. Passages in the Bible and the Book of Mormon support this doctrine, but it is this revelation and subsequent revelations by Joseph Smith and his successors, all of whom Mormons revere as prophets, seers and revelators, that form the foundation of our knowledge of God and his attributes. Regarding scriptural canon, Mormons believe in the Bible, but they do not believe in it exclusively, which is another non-Biblical tradition adopted by modern Christianity but not supported by the Bible itself. God’s word is not confined to the Bible, and the living oracles or God, namely a living prophet and living apostles, are the the main authority Mormons look to today for guidance and for understanding God’s will. Mormons believe that God revealed his will to other nations other than the Jews and early church, and those followers of Christ recorded their revelations and testimony as well. This is where the Book of Mormon comes in, it being a collection of prophetic writings of the inhabitants of ancient America. Mormons also believe that God continues to reveal his will to prophets today and continues to unfold the mysteries of the kingdom well beyond what the Bible includes. The fact that much of Mormon doctrine is not contained in the Bible is irrelevant to Mormons, and as God continues to reveal his will to his kingdom on the earth, that kingdom continues to grow and develop, striving to make bad men good and good men better.

Just to clarify a few things:
1.Mormons don’t believe God is a man. Your source doesn’t say that God is a man, but rather tries to explain how or where God may have come from. Mormons believe that perhaps God had a similar experience that we have now on earth, But in no way does the Mormon faith believe that God the eternal Father and Creator is a man or anywhere close to the same level.

2.Mormons do believe that all can become “like” gods, but in no way do they believe they are on the same level or higher than God. (mormon.org)

3. Mormons do believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and was crusified on the cross. Mormons also believe that God the Father created all things that in them are, which include that of lucifer. That doesn’t mean that Jesus Christ and satan are similar in any way, or that Jesus Christ is less devine, or that satan is in any way good, it is simply a take on where satan came from. (by the way, where do you think satan came from then? didn’t God create all things?)

it’s funny that you say Mormonism is not Christian. Just because it is not your specific denomination doesn’t mean it’s teachings don’t follow and center on Christ. Do you realize despite their non-orthidox religious beliefs, Mormons read and study the bible more than most people I’ve met! Their Book of Mormon is very different to that of orthodox Christian denominations, however it too teaches of Jesus Christ of Bethlahem. In fact, it has more references to Jesus Christ than in the bible itself (plus Mormons read and study both). I’m not saying to anyone here that you have to believe in Mormonism, but we should be able to find more common ground and focus on similarities to unite all of our brothers and sisters, then to push down those who don’t believe exactly what we believe.

And wasn’t that the message of Glenn Beck anyway? “Turn our lives to God” he also spoke of values and ethics and morals being taught to our children under the belief of humility to our Creator. Are any of these things contrary to that which all Christian faiths believe? I just think by religion bashing we are missing the bigger picture, and in turn being less Christ-like or “Christian”.